It is also evident that the struggle in the CPC and among its leaders mounted as the tasks confronting the Party and the nation grew more complex and Mao Tse-tung stepped up his efforts to impose his line and consolidate his personal power regime. The sharp aggravation of the differences in the CPC, that erupted into an open political clash, was generated by the serious and long-maturing crisis of the Maoist home and foreign policies. The "cultural revolution" was the culmination of this struggle, in which the problem of the power regime was closely coupled with ideological and political problems.
Source: wiktionary